DAY 31 in Dubai

We docked in Dubai at 6.00am where the temperature was already around 30C By the time we got off the ship at 9.00am it was 45C, it’s quite a dry heat and just feels like you’re standing with the oven door open.  The cab driver was saying in June and July it frequently hits 55C….  October to January are the coolest months of the year here. Cabs are very cheap and plentiful. Our first stop was the Gold Souks as we were told they open from 10.00am to 1.00pm then close for the afternoon and open again from 4.00pm to 11.00pm. The souks are only a short distance from the cruise terminal so we were there just before they opened.  I can now understand what everyone raves about when talking about the gold in Dubai.  I have never seen so many elaborate pieces of 22ct gold in my life. Also stunning diamonds set beautifully in rings, bracelets and necklaces. I love jewellery and was disappointed not to be able to stay longer as there was so much more to see.  However, we had to move along so we jumped in a cab and went to the Khalifa tower. OMG what a fabulous looking building that is, quite unbelievable. I left the others and went to the Dubai Mall which is right next to Khalifa whilst they took the pressurized elevator to the 124^th floor.  You’d never catch me doing that. ;) Anyway they returned not long after as it was fully booked.  Apparently the best way is to book your elevator trip to the 124^th floor online before your arrival in Dubai.  It’s also cheaper that way, only UAE100.00 whereas if you buy it in Dubai you pay UAE300.00, UAE100.00 equals approximately US$30.00.

The shops in the Malls are amazing; they certainly have a lot of style here. The Dubai Mall has a full size skating rink as well as every shop you can imagine.  I was surprised to see a Waitrose Supermarket there also. Waitrose is from the UK for those who may not know.

From the Dubai Mall we caught another taxi who offered to take us on a two and half hour tour for US$110.00 which was excellent between the six of us. So off we went out to the Burj, Atlantis, and other stunning Arabian hotels.  Then it was off to the famous island called ‘The Palms’. It even has its own Monorail. Each road is called Frond A, Frond B etc. The Sheik of Dubai gifted a huge mansion on The Palms to Michael Schumacher the Formula One driver. We wonder what he had done to deserve that, but it was a monster of a house and looked very opulent. The Sheik has three sisters and he built them enormous houses looking over the ocean on the road out toward The Palms. Oh to have him for a brother. J Glenn, wouldn’t you like to be a Sheik of somewhere?  If you were, just remember who’s your sister….lol.

Then it was time to visit the Mall of the Emirates and the famous Ski slope.  Unbelievable to think we walked in from 45C heat into snow, chairlifts and toboggans.  Another amazing Mall, they certainly know how to do things right in Dubai.

We all loved the city and would return in heartbeat, next time for a longer stay. It’s easy to understand why so many move to Dubai to work for a year but stay for decades. Although it appears from what we hear that it’s not as lucrative to work here as it has been previously. However it’s clean, no graffiti anywhere, has style, amazing restaurants and is friendly. The high rise buildings compliment every Architect.  It’s hard to imagine that 14 years ago Dubai was just a little city of the Middle East with nothing but oil.  Now it’s a tourist destination of the world and I’m sure it will continue to be even when they run out of oil, which they say isl in the not too distant future?  Also petrol is only 50c a litre and there’s no tax on the purchase of cars so there are ‘designer’ cars everywhere.

Captain Charles has taken over the helm. He also has a good sense of humour.  He’s announced this evening that when he finds the keys he’ll get the ship started and we’ll be on our way to India.

Gordon, our new Cruise Director, has been with Royal Caribbean for 22 years and sounds very professional and speaks well and has a good sense of humour which goes down well with everyone.

Tomorrow day 1 of 2 days at Sea en-route to Goa, India.

DAY 30 day 6 of 6

Our last day at sea before our arrival in Dubai.  Security measures are still being carried out on-board. We stopped off shore near Muscat Oman while we waited for a change of Security people to come along side and board the ship as we travel the Homoz (spelling) straits. We were stationary for nearly 2 hours waiting be proceeding finally passing through the straits at 11.30pm. There were several of little dinghy’s with outboards buzzing around us.  We presumed they were fishermen but didn’t see any rods or nets.  I awoke during the night to go and have a look out on the balcony; all I could see were oil rigs. At one stage I counted 9.

A pathetic finish to the progressive Trivia, all we could have won was a wooden spoon if they had one…. J

We’re moving cabins again which doesn’t worry us as that’s what you get when you book a ship’s guarantee and we still think it’s the best way to book, especially on a long voyage like this.  We will move to Deck 6 with balcony.

Apologies for the lack of photos, the internet has been quite intermittent. I will try in Dubai.

Dubai tomorrow. J

DAY 29 day 5 of 6 days at sea

Been busy so I am three days behind so I will now post all three days one after the other..... happy reading. :)

Another perfect day at sea, and the perfect place to celebrate my Birthday.  We started with breakfast in the Diamond breakfast room. Then it was off to Trivia, back up to 15 out of 20 today, we all wish we could just be a little bit better but we’re having fun and that’s all that counts.

Clocks advanced an hour at midday so before we new it the afternoon was gone. The Sportsbar has US$3.00 beers from midday until 4.00pm so we met there for the cocktail of the day at US$3.00 and a few beers before the Paradise Parade began along the Royal Promenade. The Parade was good and costumes were great but it could have lasted a bit longer with a little more dancing.

Our time schedule seems to always be busy and we had about 45 minutes to get showered and ready for the show at 7.00pm.  Tonight it was a Hypnotist, we’ve not seen one ‘live’ before. He had several ‘willing volunteers’ up on the stage….which didn’t include us. ;) The guy had these people believing they were Elvis Presley, Lap dancers, riding horses, seeing the audience as if they we were all in the nude, all of which was hilarious…..glad we didn’t volunteer. J

Portofino specialty restaurant was the choice tonight for my Birthday.  It’s the most amazing restaurant and the food is divine. The Captain was also dining there and he was happy to sign my Birthday card and have a chat and a joke with us.  He’s such a personable guy, hope the new Captain from Dubai has the same sense of humour?

We didn’t have time for any sports activities together today but Roy and Wayne had a game of Putt Putt where Roy wants to announce he had a hole in one… J Then they shot a few hoops on the basketball court…. Or should I say tried to shoot hoops and between the two of them they didn’t score even one hoop!!  We girls wish we had been there, we would have given them heaps about that.  If it’s not too hot tomorrow we’ll all have a go, and we’re sure the girls will be the boys easily.

Voyager of the Seas employs magic Elves….. we went to dinner and when we came home we had new carpet in our cabin…..just like that…. And everything that must have had to be moved was all back exactly as we had left it.

Tomorrow is our last day at sea before arriving in a very hot Dubai. They’re now predicting 45C….!!!